Live Bait
by Tech-Man
Summary: Jake and Rose's secrete is out and they become trapped in the dream realm by the Hunts Master who intends to have Jake's pelt. JxR Sequel is in the making.
1. Roof Top Date

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 1 – Roof Top Date**

Jake sat on the top of the Empire State building, looking West over the roof tops of New York City. The sun was just about to set when Jake sensed a familiar presence behind him. Trying to be as stealthy as possible, Jake formed his tail in an attempt to trip the assailant sneaking up behind him. Within a spilt second, Jake found himself flying through the air, landing harshly on the ground with a Hunts Clan spear leveled at his throat. Jake was too startled to notice the snickering ninja on the other side of the spear. The offending weapon fell to the ground as the ninja grabbed a hold of her sides, trying to quell the pain from laughing so hard.

"Y-Y-You should have seen your face," Rose said, laughing so hard that she could barely stand up. "God, I wish that I had a camera on the end of this thing," she giggled as she began to calm down. Rose reached up to pull off her Hunt's Clan mask and leaned her staff against the side of the building.

"I knew that it was you the entire time," Jake huffed as he straightened him self up and tried to look the cool guy once again. "I could have seriously hurt you," he said, semi-lecturing her. "I might have even killed you." He rose up to his full height to tower over her.

"If this had been three years ago; I would have actually slain my first dragon," she laughed.

Jake walked over to Rose and grabbed her in his arms, pulling her close and covering her lips with his. After they parted Rose leaned her head against Jakes chest and sighed with contentment.

"Whatever, you could never slay the American Dragon," Jake said, leaning down and kissing the top of Rose's head.

His tail snaked around the corner of the building and brought out a bag filled with food and a blanket. Jake laid down the blanket and motioned for Rose to join him. She sat down next to Jake and rested her head on his shoulder, reaching into the basket to pull out one of the already prepared sandwiches.

The pair of lovers had decided during one of their dream dates that they would like to start meeting in person and experience a real date at least once a month. From that point on they would make sure that numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine were off chasing phantom items or trying to catch some poor magical creature (that Jake had paid). This had been going on for the better part of a year, and it appeared that the Hunts Master was none the wiser.

Jake and Rose ate their respective foods and watched as the sun set over the horizon. Just as the sun was falling behind the skylines, Jake leaned over and brushed his lips gently against Rose's, pulling back at the last moment. A soft whine escaped from her throat. Jake pulled far enough back to get a look at her, smiled, then leaned in again and pressed his lips firmly yet softly against hers, slightly nibbling on her lower lip requesting entrance to her mouth.

Rose slowly opened her mouth, letting his long, dragon tongue roam free. After a moment her tongue mingled with his, transpiring into a battle for dominance. The two parted after a moment to catch their breaths.

"Looks like the Hunts Girl is completely under the Am Drag's control," Jake said in a mocking voice.

"No, I think that it's the Hunts Girl who has tamed the American Dragon," Rose shot back.

Jake scuffed at the comment and said, "Keep on dreaming girl." With that Jake squeezed her tight against him and softly kissed the top and her head, then down to her ear, and on to her lips.

They rejoined the war; battles and skirmishes raging for several hours. Eventually the two wore themselves out and Rose collapsed onto Jake's lap, letting the rise and fall of his belly and the rhythmic beat of his heart lull her to sleep. Jake could see her small frame shiver slightly. Being the gentleman that he was, Jake used his tail to grab his jacket that lay on the ledge and pulled it up over Rose to keep the nighttime chill away from her still body. Closing his own eyes, Jake allowed himself to drift in to a peaceful slumber.

As the couple slept cuddled in each others arms the sky transformed from a brilliant inferno of red and orange in to a peaceful black. The couple continued to sleep bathed in the soft light of the full moon.

The couple was awoken by Rose's staff creating an awful racket. Rose shot up with lightning speed, grabbing her mask and hurriedly pulling it on her face. She walked over to the other side of the building away from Jake and answered the Hunts Masters call. "Yes Hunts Master, I am here," Rose responded in her Hunts Girl tone.

"Hunts Girl, I want a full report on your activities this evening. Have you located the American Dragon?" the Hunts Master inquired.

Rose shot a quick glance in Jake's direction and then back at Hunts Master. "No Hunts Master, I have not been able to locate the American Dragon nor his Master. I have been staking out the Old Man's shop, however no one has neither come nor left the building since around twenty-one hundred, Sir," Rose said, trying to sound convincing.

"Very well Hunts Girl, report back to the head quarters immediately." with that the Hunts Master disappeared and the staff stopped glowing.

"Well, I guess this is the end to our date tonight," Jake sighed, walking over to Rose and once again encircling his arms around her waist, burring his face in her hair and kissing the side of her neck.

A moan of pleasure escaped Rose's lips as Jake continued to plant gentle kisses along her jaw line, removing her mask in the process. Jake continued to kiss her along her neck until he ending up at her lips. "Jake, you do realize that I have to go now," Rose cooed, her voice escaping her at the moment.

"Yeah, but I just love the taste of you, and I know that you can't get enough of the Am Drag" said Jake as he kissed her lips again; allowing his arms to snake their way around her waist pulling her flush up against him.

Rose pulled back and looked Jake in the eyes. She smiled. "What makes you think that I can't get enough of the American Dragon, Huh? Dragon boy," Rose said as she picked up her staff and slinked over to the edge of the building. Once she reached the edge she stopped transforming the staff in to a hover board.

"Now what makes you think that you can leave without giving the Am Drag another kiss," Jake said, strutting over to where Rose was standing on the hover board.

"Oh, does the tough dragon need a kiss," Rose teased, looking Jake straight in the eye.

"No, I think that the hot ninja needs a kiss," Jake said, closing the distance between them. His lips melted onto hers, sending a tingle down his spine. He could never get tired of kissing those lips. Too bad he wasn't allowed to kiss them in public.

Just as Jake and Rose were finishing their kiss two sets of eyes were glued to binoculars from a building across the way. The two continued to take notes and photos as the couple parted. They watched as one took off on a hover board and the other transformed in to a dragon and headed off in to the night time sky.

**AN: I would like to thank dx/dt for beta reading and helping to name this fic. She has been a great help. And like always please review. I enjoy reading what you all thought of my story; till next time.**


	2. Dream Date Gone Wrong

**Answers to review questions:**

ZSF2 - Yes they are both in their senior year of high school. 

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 2 – Dream Date Gone Wrong**

The Hunts Master sat at his desk his, fingers rapping out perfect time. He was waiting patiently for a report from his apprentice. Just as he was about to call her again the door to his study opened and Hunts Girl walked in.

"Hunts Master, I am prepared to give my report," Rose said in a calm and relaxed tone looking the Hunts Master directly in to the eyes, while standing at attention.

"Hunts Girl, I want a full report on your activities this evening," the Hunts Master barked, causing Rose to jump slightly.

"Yes, Hunts Master. I have been watching the Old man's shop looking for any sign of the American Dragon. However, no one entered or exited the building while I was standing watch," she reported, while taking a position of At-ease.

"Very well Hunts Girl, you may retire for the evening. Send in numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine on your way out," the Hunts Master ordered as Rose shuffled into the hall way.

"Numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine, the Hunts Master requests your presence," Rose yelled as she walked to her room. Once inside Rose closed and locked her door; collapsing on to her bed. Reaching over to her night stand, she pulled out her dream charm. Slipping the bracelet around her wrist Rose curled up into a ball hoping that Jake would soon appear in her dreams.

Jake arrived outside of his bedroom window shortly after his departure from one of the most enjoyable dates they had shared. They had been having dream dates every night for three years and they still were not tired of seeing each other. Jake opened his bedroom window and crawled in silently, making sure not to disturb his sleeping parents in the adjacent room. Jake pulled off his clothes and climbed in to bed. Jake reached under his pillow and produced the dream charm that Rose had given him. Holding his bracelet in his hand Jake reached up and turned off his light; quickly surrendering to sleep.

Jake left his dream room and headed over towards Rose's door. He reached for the handle only to have the door move out of his grasp. He tried again, but the door continued to shrink away for his touch. Panic washed over him and he began to run frantically after the fading door, but the handle was always one step ahead of him. Finally Jake gave up and leaded against the wall. Hanging his head in his hands Jake tried to calm his racing heart.

Suddenly, the hallway evaporated from view, and Jake found himself standing in a desolate green field. As he looked around trying to determine his new location, a light tap on the shoulder caused him to jump in surprise. Turning to affront his attacker, Jake found himself staring into gorgeous blue eyes accompanied by a shining smile.

"Are you OK, Jake? I guess that you were having a nightmare," Rose said.

"I thought that with the dream charm you were in complete control of your dreams," Jake said, looking quite confused.

"When using the dream charm you are supposed to have complete control over the dream realm. I wonder if there is something wrong with your charm," Rose mused, grabbing hold of Jakes wrist and examining the charm. "Maybe you should bring it to school with you tomorrow so I can take a look at it," she said, letting go of his wrist, but intertwining her fingers with his. "I will look over the Hunts Clan's books about this and we will take a look," Rose added as an after thought.

"Whatever, lets go and have some fun. What did you tell the Hunts Master when you got back," Jake asked as their surrounding morphed into the familiar scene of Paris.

"I told him that I had been over looking your grandpa's shop but didn't see any sign of him or you," Rose said pulling Jake over to a café and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Well, you won't see the Am Drag unless the Am Drag wants you to," Jake boasted, taking the seat next to Rose. She giggled.

"Whatever. So what do you want to do tonight," Rose asked, creating a cup of coffee out of thin air. She scooted her chair closer to Jake's, leaning her head on his shoulder as she sipped her coffee.

"Whatever you want to do," Jake replied running his fingers through Rose's hair and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

Rose took a moment to think and looked over at Jake a smile rapidly spreading over her face. "How about we pick up where we left off in our real date," Rose suggested lightly elbowing Jake in the ribs.

"You just can't get enough of the Mack Daddy Jake, can you," Jake joked as the view changed from Paris to the New York skyline. The couple headed over and sat down on the top of the Empire State Building; Rose sitting in Jake's lap as he wrapped his arms round her slime figure, taking a moment to inhale her heavenly scent. Jake gently angled Rose's face up towards his as their lips met in a gentle kiss. He made a move to deepen the kiss as the sound of gravel crushing under some ones boot broke the couple apart.

Before them stood the Hunts Master with a platoon of Hunts Clan all with spears leveled at Jake and Rose. "Ah Hunts Girl, how good of you to be here with the American Dragon," the Hunts Master laughed as four Hunts Clan members moved in to restrain the two.

Jake leaped up, transforming mid air and grabbed a hold of Rose with his tail as he took flight in the artificial New York City. "Is this another nightmare?" Jake asked Rose as they headed for the Dream realm's recreation of Jakes house.

"I don't know," Rose answered, running her hands through her hair, desperately trying to piece together what had just happened. Once inside of Jake's house the two sat down and looked at each other hoping that the other had some idea of what was going on. "They don't appear to have followed us," Rose said breaking the silence they hadn't noticed descending on them.

"Well, let's talk about this tomorrow," Jake suggested. "Maybe my messed up dream charm is causing us both to have problems," Jake added. With that the two woke themselves up and proceeded to fall back asleep without the aid of their dream charms.

The Hunts Master sat at his desk with a frightened looking leprechaun wringing his hat in between his hands as two Hunts Clan members stood flanked behind him. "Now, you are sure that with this and the other merchandise you provided we will be able to capture the American Dragon?" the Hunts Master asked lifting a bottle of green glowing liquid and rolling it around in his hands.

"Y-Yes Sir," the leprechaun answered, peering at the bottle in the Hunts Master's hands. "All you have to do is get it in their systems and wait for it to take effect then they will be unable to remove them selves from the dream realm," he added, glancing down at his feet. The leprechaun continued, "The potion interrupts the users control over the dream charm. They will not only be unable to leave but they can not change any of the aspects of the dream."

"And what about getting him to transform," the Hunts Master asked pointedly.

"If the dragon transforms in the dream realm then the potion will cause him to change in the real world as well. The potion acts like a link between their physical and astral bodies. However, there is one problem that I should mention," the leprechaun added the last part in an almost whisper.

"And what would that be," the Hunts Master demanded, slamming his hand on the desk eliciting a jump from the small magical creature.

"Well, this only works on someone once; so you have to be sure and capture him the night you use it," he answered, wiping the sweat forming on his forehead.

"That will not be a problem," was all the Hunts Master said before the two guards grabbed the leprechaun and hauled him out of the Hunts Master's office. "I will finally have the American Dragon," the Hunts Master gloated as he cackled insidiously.

**AN: I would like to thank dx/dt for beta reading this story. Please review and let me know what you think so far.**


	3. The Nightmare Starts

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 3 – The Nightmare Starts**

Jake arrived at school in the usual fashion; riding on his skateboard with his two best friends. "So Jakey," Trixie asked, "What's planned for this evening?"

"More Dragon training with gramps," Jake answered, reaching down to grab his skateboard.

"Watch it Long, the Bradster is coming through," was all Jake heard as a meaty hand belonging to everyone's favorite jock shoved him into the wall.

Jake looked angrily at Brad wishing to get even with him just once, but his anger subsided as he caught sight of his beautiful girlfriend. "Rose, baby lets get away from these dorks," Brad proclaimed grabbing a hold of Rose's arm and pulling her in tow behind him. Rose gave Jake an apologizing look as the door slammed behind her.

"Brad really rakes on my nerves," Jake commented as he picked up his skateboard and headed off towards homeroom.

"You could always go dragon and take him down," Spud joked as he reached in to his locker.

"Spud, don't be an idiot. Jake wouldn't do that," Trixie reprimanded, smacking Spud upside the head.

"Ouch, that hurt," Spud whined, rubbing the top of his head and shooting Trixie a glare. The three friends grabbed the necessary books from their lockers and made their way over to homeroom, sitting together as usual.

Half of the day raced by; mainly owing to the fact that Jake had slept through most of his classes. Lunch was one of the few times during the day that Jake enjoyed. Students pored in to the hall, racing either towards their next class or the cafeteria. Jake dropped by his locker, throwing his back pack inside before slamming it shut again, then met up with Trixie and Spud as they headed to their usual lunch table in the cafeteria.

Rose walked in to the lunchroom and scanned the crowd for signs of Jake and his friend's. Spotting the three friends at their normal table Rose made a bee-line for them. She walked up behind Jake and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Hey Jake, did you remember to bring the charm with you," Rose asked, taking the seat next to him.

Jake reached in his pocket producing the Dream charm on command then handed it to Rose.

"Here you go," Jake said casually as he dropped the dream charm in to Rose's waiting hand. "How much do you know about these things," he asked, reaching for his drink and coming up empty. Jake turned his head to look for the beverage and found it sitting near the end of the table next to Rose's. Thinking nothing of it Jake reached over and grabbed the pop, taking a huge gulp then set it down on the table. Rose pulled the dream charm up to eyelevel and began to examine every surface of it. She took the purple pendant and held it close to her eye.

"Yo Rose, what are you doing at this table. You should be hanging out with the Bradster," Brad said walking over and grabbing a hold of Rose's arm. Brad pulled Rose up and started to drag her away from Jake and the others. As Rose was being hauled off she mouthed the words, "See you after school." to Jake.

Jake just watched as Rose disappeared; anger apparent on his face. "Yo Jakey, you know you could say something," Trixie chimed in as Jake turned to face his two friends.

"It's just too dangerous for us to be seen together," Jake answered, hanging his head in his hands as he took another sip of his drink.

BBBBRRRRRING!

The bell sounded, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of yet another boring class. Numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine made their way towards the exit of the school. After passing through the double doors the two Hunts Clan apprentices removed their disguises and pulled out their staffs. Transforming them in to hover boards they headed towards the Hunts Clan's head quarters. The two boys joked with each other about the upcoming hunt that evening.

Rose headed towards her next class with Jake's dream charm safely dangling on her other wrist. Her next class was algebra but she was already ahead in that class. That would give her time to inspect the dream charm for any damage. Rose hoped that she would be able to fix what ever was wrong with it.

Once again Rose brought the charm up to her face, taking careful look at the purple pyramid shaped pendant. Rose could clearly see several flea bites1 on the pendant, but nothing that was not also present on hers. Rose began to take a closer look at the entire charm hoping that something would present its self to her.

Rose spent the rest of class securitizing every aspect of Jake's dream charm. The only thing that she could come up with was where it looked like Jake had dropped the bracelet repeatedly. Rose thought about how many times Jake had allowed the bracelet to slip off his wrist and slam in to the pavement when they were on their real dates. That was why Jake had started keeping the charm in his room.

Rose slipped the charm on to her other wrist and headed towards the final class of the day. Thankfully, she shared Rotwood's class with Jake. That would give her something else to preoccupy her mind other then the obvious incorrect information that Rotwood spewed. As the charm dangled on Rose's wrist she failed to notice a faint glow emerging from the crack deep within the pyramid shaped pendent.

Rose took her seat next to Jake and pulled out a scrap piece of paper and quickly scribbled out a note. _"Jake, I spent all last period looking over the dream charm. I can't find anything wrong with it. I guess last night was just a fluke."_ Rose slipped the note on to Jake's desk and then slid the bracelet off her wrist and placed it on top of the note.

Jake looked down at his dream charm and the note underneath. He read the note then pulled out his pen and scribbled an answer in return. _"I guess that it would have had to be. So, same time tonight?"_ Jake waited for Rotwood to turn his attention to the black board before he passed the note back to Rose.

Grabbing the note, Rose quickly read it and wrote and replied, _"Sure thing, we haven't missed a night yet."_ Waiting for the right timing Rose handed the note to Jake, giving him one of those smiles she knows makes his heart melt.

Jake returned the smile with his own smug one and took the note from Rose, writing a reply. Not paying any attention Jake passed the note just as Rotwood turned his attention from the board.

"Mr. Long, this is not note passing time. That will be detention for you this afternoon," Rotwood yelled as he ripped the note out of Jake's hand; throwing it in to the trash can.

Jake's only response was, "Oh man!" Rose simply looked over and shrugged her shoulders with a guilty smile.

After school Jake sat in detention with Rotwood writing an extensive essay on pixies. An hour and a half later, Jake was released from his legal torture. Once outside of the school Jake transformed into the American Dragon and headed over towards his grandpa's shop for dragon training.

The Hunts Master stood in between two squads of Hunts Clan soldiers. Numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine stood at attention at the front of the two squads. Over the years they had finally managed to get their act together. They were no longer scared little kids, but trained hunters of magical creatures. Walking to the head of the group, the Hunts Master turned and spoke in his normal authoritative voice, "Tonight we shall finally slay the American Dragon. You all know where to be and what to do." With that the two squads dispersed.

After completing his dragon training for the evening Jake was exhausted and totally worn out, but summoned the energy once more to transform and head back towards his room and comfortable bed. Jake stealthily tiptoed into his room and immediately flopped onto his bed. Reaching to the side, Jake found his pants and fished the dream charm out of the front pocket. Slipping the charm on to his hand Jake laid down ready for the dream date he had been awaiting all day.

Rose looked over at the clock. She had found it strange that the Hunts Master had not requested her presence on the hunt tonight. Deciding it best to not worry about it Rose laid down on her bed and made her self comfortable. She quickly fell asleep as the dream realm materialized around her.

The couple found themselves in the corridor. Instead of the normal grey color that the corridor presented its self it was a darker grey. Jake and Rose didn't take much notice as they headed for Jake's door. Once inside they were met with a Hawaiian sunset. Rose created a table, but it wasn't exactly what she had wanted. Shrugging her shoulders Rose walked over and took a seat at the table.

After nearly an hour of watching the sun set, they decided to head off and enter Rose's dreams. Jake and Rose found each other in the dark, dingy corridors. Intertwining their fingers, they headed in the direction of Rose's doorway.

Rose opened the door and a beautiful scene of Paris folded out in front of them. They walked over towards the café that so frequently played a part in their dreams. As they approached their normal table an ominous laugher interrupted their conversation. Jake and Rose watched on in horror as the Paris scene dissolved around them, only to be replaced by a desolate looking field littered with the decaying bodies of hundreds of magical creatures.

"Well, well, Hunts Girl and the American Dragon. What a treat this is," Hunts Master laughed, raising his staff and aiming at the two. Frantically, Jake and Rose tried to alter the environment or wake up. However, much to their dismay everything remained the same as the Hunts Clan surrounded them, spears leveled and set to kill.

1 – Term used by antique dealers to describe small chips out of glass objects. They are too small to be of any real concern but large enough to notice.

**AN: I would like to thank dx/dt for beta reading this story; I could not have done it withour her. Please go read her stories they are fantastic and she would greatly appreciate it. Please review and let me know what you think so far.**


	4. Nightmare

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 4 – Nightmare**

As the population of New York City slept a squad of Hunts Clan made their way across the New York skyline on their converted staffs. Numbers eight-eight and eighty-nine were in charge of this particular Hunts Clan squad as it was a component of the two part attack on the American Dragon.

The Alpha Squad, headed by the Hunts Master, was to enter the dream realm with the aid of a particular potion, dream charms, and a pendant that instilled all knowledge of the dream word into its wearer. Then they were to confront the American Dragon and Hunts Girl. The Bravo Squad, lead by numbers eight-eight and eighty-nine, was to go to the American Dragon's residence and bring him back to headquarters and slay him once he transformed into a dragon.

The trip to Jake Long's house was short and swift for the trained Hunts Clan as they stepped off their boards and onto his roof, careful not to disturb the slumbering residents. Fanning out, the squad covered the area, scanning the interior for any sign of the Long family and the elder dragon.

The Hunts Clan squad made their way down to the back of the house, using their staffs to destroy the lock on the back door allowing the team to sweep in towards the direction of Jake's room.

**Ω**

Jake and Rose stood facing the advancing Hunts Clan with their jaws slack. Both teens desperately tried to change their dream realm surroundings but neither had any effect on the environment. Finally regaining control of their bodies, the two turned around and ran as fast as they could away from the Hunts Clan. As Jake dashed with Rose close on his heels he only thought about how anyplace would be better than where they where. Suddenly the entire landscape changed and they found themselves running down a ghastly looking alleyway in New York City.

Rose reached for the first door they came to and violently pulled Jake in, causing him to slam into the ground which knocked the wind out of him. "What happened," Rose asked, looking down at Jake and then at their surroundings.

Jake looked around and sighed, "Well, I was just thinking about how someplace else other than the field would be nice, and well, here it is," Jake said, standing up and peaking out the door to see if the Hunts Clan were close on their tails.

Seeing no one in pursuit coming down the alley way, Jake walked over and sat down next to Rose, taking her hand in his and squeezing it tight. Rose leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes trying to logically explain the events that had just transpired.

**Ω**

The Hunts Clan team surrounded Jake's unconscious form and with great precision lifted the sleeping teen from his bed, wrapping him in a net. The team carried the boy out of the house and attached the net to their boards, headed off towards the Hunts Clan Headquarters.

**Ω**

Jake stood up and walked around the warehouse looking for anything that could help explain what was going on. Rose watched as Jake paced around. Growing tired of watching him continually march back and forth, she stood and walked over to him, grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. "Jake, you said earlier that you were trying to change the environment, and then this place suddenly appeared. I have been trying to open the door to the dream realm corridor ever since we walked in here and nothing is happening. Maybe you should try to change the environment again," Rose suggested.

Jake focused all his energy on creating a giant burrito table hybrid, just for kicks, but nothing in their immediate surroundings changed. "It just won't work this time," Jake said in a defeated tone, slumping back against the wall.

The Hunts Master paced around a vacant parking lot that used to be the field he had created. "How could they change the setting," he thought to himself, "that leprechaun had promised me that with the knowledge of the dream realm no one would be able to override my commands. At least with the potion I know for a fact they won't be escaping." Turning to face the squad of Hunts Clan the Hunts Master said, "Everyone spread out and search the area. They couldn't have gone far. Once you find them make the dragon transform and signal for backup. GO!" With that the Hunts Clan dispersed in several different directions. The Hunts Master waited till they were out of sight and headed in the direction that his prey had fled.

Rose gave Jake a stern look while he stood back up and once again paced around the warehouse. Outside, the sound of breaking glass snapped them to attention. "Ear of the dragon," Jake said under his breath while his ear took on the appearance of his dragon form. "Sounds like just one guy," Jake whispered to Rose who had her ear pressed against the door.

The handle on the door creaked and Jake and Rose passed knowing looks at each other. Rose climbed to top of the door frame waiting for it to open while Jake hid behind some boxes lying around on the floor. As the door opened Rose slammed her boot into the back of the Hunts Clan's members head, knocking him out cold.

Jake and Rose stood opposite of the newly captured ninja whom was tired to a chair with is mask removed. Rose held his staff leveled at his head and Jake was using his height to its full advantage. "What is going on here," Jake demanded as the Hunts Clan member began to wake up.

"W-what happened," he asked regaining consciousness.

"Why don't you start by telling us what you are doing here," Rose asked, using the staff to stress her point.

Seeing the staff glow a faint green, the ninja's eyes widened in fear. "We are here to make sure you transform into your dragon form so that the team that picked up your body can slay you before you awake."

"And why are our dream charms not working," Jake demanded, looking ready to kill.

"Eighty-eight and eighty-nine slipped you both some potion to keep you here in the dream word and make everything that happens here effect your bodies in the real word. The Hunts Master also has something that allows him to override yours and my charm," the Hunts Clan member said. Taking the hint from Jake, Rose fired a stunning blast at the restrained squad member, rendering him unconscious.

"So, what now," Rose asked, hooking the staff behind her back.

"I guess we can go after the Hunts Master and see if we can get some answers from him," Jake suggested as he walked over towards the door.

"Remember what that guy said, Jake. They want you to transform so you need to remain in your human form so they don't kill you," Rose said, walking towards him and intertwining her fingers with his.

"I'll be careful," Jake answered, gripping the handle to the door and opening it slowly. The alleyway was just as deserted as it was before. The two took a cautious step outside. Jake pulled the door shut and Rose sealed it with a short blast from the staff. "Now we need to find and surprise the Hunts Master," Jake whispered into Rose's ear.

They headed back in the direction from which they fled, looking for any signs of the Hunts Master. "Damn, I wish grandpa was here to help," Jake inwardly thought to himself.

Suddenly a doorway appeared directly in front of them. Rose whipped the staff around and pointed it directly at the door expecting any minute the Hunts Master would appear. The door looked just like all of the other dream realm doors. Jake hesitantly reached for the door and pulled it open reveling the dream realm corridor.

Jake and Rose stepped through the doorway hearing the click of the door reverberate through the hall. "Lets see if your grandfather is asleep yet," Rose suggested while motioning towards a door with 'Lao Shi' written above it. Jake gripped the handle and opened the door reveling a 1970's disco dance floor with Lao Shi dancing in the center. Jake walked over towards him interrupting the entire dancing group.

"Yo Yo, what is this interruption," he asked giving Jake a dirty look.

"Grandpa, we have a problem," Jake uttered, "The Hunts Master has found a way to confine Rose and me to the dream realm. They have also taken my body back to the Hunts Clan's Headquarters," Jake said in a hurry.

"Now, now, young dragon. How do you know this?" Lao Shi asked, walking Jake and Rose over towards one of the tables.

Jake and Rose sat together across from the magnificent Chinese dragon. "All I know is that we were having one of our typical dream dates and then everything changed and the Hunts Master stood before us with an entire squad of Hunts Clan. We even lost the ability to control the dream realm," Jake answered, looking over at Rose to conform the story.

Rose nodded her head in approval of what Jake had said. Lao Shi nodded his head looking at the two. "The Hunts Master must have gotten a hold of the potion of dreams," Lao Shi said, a worried looking expression crossing his face.

"Young one you must not transform here in the dream realm," he told them, "otherwise your body will transform in the real world, leaving you open to attack."

"I know, I know," Jake said, looking his grandfather in the eyes, "but what can we do?"

"I will speak with Fu Dog to see if he has any idea of a counter potion," Lao Shi said as he closed his eyes. Suddenly the world around them went black and they were thrown back into Jake's door. The two stood up and looked around at the scene before them. It was the exact replica of what they had faced while in Rose's mind.

From behind an ominous voice filled the area, "Glad to see you have returned."

Jake and Rose slowly turned around and came face to face with the Hunts Master's staff leveled at their heads and glowing bright green.

**AN: I would like to thank dx/dt for continuing to beta read, she is awesome. Now please do you part and tell me what you think.**


	5. Location Pinpointed

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long. **

**Live Bait **

**Chapter 5 – Location Pinpointed **

Lao Shi shot straight up in bed and looked around frantically for any sign of the six hundred year old Sharpe. "Fu Dog," he yelled, getting out of bed and running downstairs to the shop. The aforementioned dog was sound asleep on his back, obviously in some dream. Grandpa reached down and shook the sleeping dog awake.

Fu Dog found himself being ripped from the clutches of several attractive female dogs as a firm hand on his shoulder brought him back to the world of conciseness. "What! What," he yelled at the annoyance standing next to him.

"We have a serious problem," Lao Shi answered with a somber look portrayed on his face.

The look on Grandpa's face squelched all complaint from the grumpy canine. "What's the matter," Fu asked, sitting up and facing him properly.

"The Hunts Master has trapped Jake and Rose in the dream realm with the dream potion. He intends-"

"-to mount Jake's pelt on his wall," Fu Dog finished for him.

"Yes that's correct. We must do something and do it quickly. How long will it take for you to whip up the counter-potion," he asked.

"Give me thirty minutes. You know the kid has to drink it for it to work," Fu replied as he headed over to the ingredient cabinet, ripping the doors open in his haste to search for the proper supplies. Minutes before Fu was finished, Grandpa headed back upstairs to get dressed and met Fu at the door whom had another potion in hand. "I brought this along just incase," he said, indicating that this sleeping potion worked wonderfully on humans.

"Good thinking," Grandpa said, shutting the door. The two walked over to the alley where Grandpa transformed into the mystical Chinese dragon and carried Fu in his claws towards the Long residence.

Once at Jake's house, Grandpa turned back into his human form. Using a spare key that Susan had given him, he opened the door and proceeded up towards Jake's room. Both Lao Shi and Fu Dog burst into Jake's room hoping to have beaten the Hunts Clan. "He's not here," Fu exclaimed and looked around the room franticly.

Grandpa nodded with his head in agreement, "Go and wake Hailey then contact Sun. We are going to need their help." Fu nodded and headed off towards Hailey's room after tossing the sleeping potion to Grandpa. After rousing Hailey and explaining the situation to her he headed off towards the shop to begin looking for the location of the Hunts Clan's HQ in the intelligence Rose had provided them with; hoping that the clan wasn't cautious enough to change locations.

Slowly, Lao Shi opened the door to his daughter's room and walked over to Jonathan who was snoring loudly. He lightly sprinkled the powder over Jonathan as a light purple glow surrounded him. "Wake up Susan," he said, softly nudging her like he used to do when she was younger.

"Not now dad, five more minutes," she mumbled, turning over in her sleep. Lao Shi just smiled and shook a little harder. Quick as lightening she shot up in bed almost yelling at the sight of her father in her room with her husband fast asleep. "What are you doing here," she demanded in a soft whisper while scowling at her father.

Lao Shi replaced his smile with a somber face and answered, "We have a problem; a magical problem."

"Well than shouldn't you be waking up Jake instead of me," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"That is part of the problem," Lao Shi began. Just as he was about explain the situation to her Hailey came rushing in screaming, "They kidnapped Jake!"

**ΩΩΩ **

The faint glow of the Hunts Master's staff shed a harsh light over Jake and Rose's face. Their fear and panic was evident from their ragged breaths. They made momentary eye contact, signaling to each other their next move. Rose nodded her head and dove off to the side while Jake's tail whipped around and caught the Hunts Master off guard, causing him to fall over backwards.

As quickly as he could, Jake retracted his tail and dove in the same direction as Rose. He could hear the Hunts Master getting to his feet and cursing them while he tried to locate where they went. "Are you okay," he asked looking into Rose's eyes. She nodded her head, looking at the staff, then in the direction of the Hunts Master.

"One . . . two . . . three . . ." she said as Jake dashed out from their hiding spot, quickly grabbing the attention of the Hunts Master. Green orbs of energy impacted the ground and wall around him while he ran. "Gotta give her time to aim," he thought to himself as he scrambled around a smoldering tree trunk.

Rose waited a second or two before standing. She wanted to make sure that all his attention was focused on Jake. As soon as the sound of the staff firing reached her ears, she stood up, pointing the staff directly at the Hunts Master's back. The staff charged with the distinct green glow and soon a glowing ball of energy was on its way to its target.

Sensing something amiss, Hunts Master looked over his shoulder to see Hunts Girl's energy blast hurling towards him. In the last second he leaned forward, causing the majority of the blast to bypass him up righting himself, he growled in pain from the burnt skin on his back. "You are going to pay for that," he said, his voice seething with hate as he turned the staff on her, ignoring the dragon behind him

**ΩΩΩ **

Numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine dragged Jake's limp body into a secret sub-level room; reaching up to latch his wrists into special cuffs that allowed a dragon to transform but kept him from escaping. The room contained a vaulted ceiling with concrete floors and walls littered with various instruments of torture specifically designed for killing magical creatures.

Jake swayed back and forth from the chains that hung down from the ceiling. The dynamic duo headed over to sit down at the only small table in the room. As they set their staffs down on the table Eighty-nine noticed a long red tail emerge from Jake's body. "Hey look!" he pointed as the tail swung with the chained boy's body. Eighty-eight turned to look, but saw nothing, for the tail had vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Fool, there's nothing there!" Eighty-eight exclaimed as he slapped his partner upside the head.

"Yeah huh! His tail was there, but then it disappeared when you turned to look!" Eighty-nine argued while rubbing the sore spot on his temple.

Finally understanding the situation, Eighty-eight smiled. "Guess he's smarter than he looks," he commented as they both laughed, waiting for the dragon to fully transform.

**ΩΩΩ**

"Jake has been what?!" screamed Susan as soon as Hailey had opened her mouth. Lao Shi slightly cringed at the loud outburst, glad that he had placed Jonathan in a magically induced sleep before waking his daughter.

"Calm down, Fu Dog is working on locating him as we speak," he spoke calmly to his daughter, trying to sooth her with his reassurances.

"What happened," Susan asked, trying her best to remain calm as her father explained the situation. "What are we going to do about it," she asked, straining on every word as she spoke.

"Sun, Hailey, and my self are going to go to the Hunts Clan's Headquarters and rescue Jake and Rose. Then bring them back to the shop to administer the antidote to the potion they were given.

Susan nodded her head up and down, looking at her father then over at her daughter. "Are you sure he'll be okay," she asked, the fear evident in her voice. Lao Shi nodded his head and walked over to Hailey.

"We must go and get Sun," he said, taking her hand and heading down the hallway. All Susan could do was watch them leave; praying that Jake would make it home safe.

**ΩΩΩ **

Jake turned just in time to see a beam of energy leave the Hunts Masters staff that was headed straight for Rose. Without even thinking, Jake's wings appeared and he flew straight for her, catching her just before the blast impacted. The Hunts Master yelled in frustration at the dragon who refused to transform all the way.

"Are you okay," he asked as Rose clung to him.

"Yeah," se replied as he dropped her off behind some boulders and flew straight for the Hunts Master.

"What am I going to do," Jake thought to himself as he made a bee line for the Hunts Master. "I can't transform all the way or they'll kill me!" Suddenly an idea came to him. "Mouth of the dragon," he whispered as flames shot from his mouth, bathing the Hunts Master in fire. Jake was about to celebrate when out of nowhere a green energy beam slammed into his back, causing him to nose dive into the ground.

"Jake!" Rose screamed as she ran towards him. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah," Jake replied, slightly dazed. Then he smiled, "Please tell me you fired that," he said, trying to lighten the mood. Rose simply shook her head and pointed over to where the remaining members of the Alpha Squad stepped through a newly formed doorway.

**ΩΩΩ **

Fu Dog searched through the files on the laptop at the office. Rose had been kind enough to bring them entire collections worth of information on the Hunts Clan and all its operations. "Surely she had put the location of the head quarters in here somewhere," Fu said to himself, waiting on the results from the search.

After retrieving Sun from her apartment the group headed back to the shop to see if Fu had made any progress. As the door chimed, signaling their entrance, Fu was busy at the computer complaining about how slow the damn thing was. "Fu Dog," Lao Shi started, "Have you been able to determine the location of the Hunts Clans Head Quarters?"

"No, not yet," he answered back just as the computer beeped twice notifying them that the search was complete. Fu laughed a little at the timing of the machine, "Guess I have it now."

**AN: I would like to thank dx/dt for continuing to beta read for me. She is the greatest. Now please do your part and let me know what you thought of the story. **


	6. Rescue Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 6 – Rescue Mission**

Jake watched as and entire squad of Hunts Clan came pouring out of the rift. The group formed a circle around Jake and Rose while the Hunts Master stood still facing them. "So what are we going to do now Jake?" Rose whispered into his ear while grabbing securely onto his arm.

"I think I may have to go full dragon in order to fend all of these guys off," Jake whispered back, preparing to transform in hopes of killing them all before he was killed in the real world.

"Hold off on that thought," Rose said, grabbing a hold of her staff, "I'll create a dust cloud with the staff. Then you will take us into the air. When they start firing on each other we will drop down behind them and catch them off guard." Jake nodded and readied his wings for immediate flight.

"Well, looks like we have finally captured the traitor and the dragon," the Hunts Master began. "Finally we will be able to-"

BOOOM!

A chunk of earth shot into the air as the Hunts Master yelled for everyone to start firing at the escaping dragon and traitor. Green orbs of energy flew out at every conceivable direction. Small impacts and thuds could be heard from around the circle. As the dust began to settle, four of the fifteen lay on the ground dead; while Jake and Rose where nowhere to be seen. "Look!" one of the Hunts clan yelled, pointing to the two floating above the carnage.

Jake and Rose suddenly found them selves dodging orbs of energy fifty feet above ground. Rose signaled Jake to release her. He complied, but cringed at the sight of her free falling body. Once on the ground Rose began a furious battle with the Hunts Master. She tried throwing an aerial-roundhouse kick, but the Hunts Master deflected the blow and sent her flying into the side of a tree.

_Damn, that hurt._ Rose stood up using her staff as a makeshift crutch. _Where is he?_ Her eyes darted around as she could feel her heart beating in her throat. "Right here," replied a voice as if in answer to her unspoken question. Suddenly, Rose was thrown forward by the sharp blow of a boot jutting into her spine.

"Rose," Jake screamed, disregarding his safety and diving straight towards the Hunts Master, only to be driven away by the onslaught of Hunts Clan members. Using his dragon strength, he grabbed two of them by the back of the neck and slammed them together with a sickening thud. Making quick work with his tail, he tripped several in one fluid motion and knocked out another with a flying upper cut.

Using her refined Hunts clan skills, Rose flipped over an abandoned spear and gracefully picked it up in the process. She duel wielded her weapons and fired several successive blasts at the Hunts Master. One grazed his arm eliciting a few choice words from him. "You are going to pay for that many times over; Traitor," the words oozed out of his mouth like poisonous venom. "I will see to it that you watch as we slowly carve your precious dragon into little pieces, just before we do the same thing to you." Chilling laughter escaped through the blackened void of the Hunts Master's mask as he advanced on her with a deathly blow.

**ΩΩΩ**

"Okay, according to the information that Rose provided us with, they should be in the warehouse district," Fu Dog pointed out on the map while Lao Shi, Hailey and Sun huddled around him. "They have about twenty clan members there at all times, but seeing as this is a special occasion you can probably expect that number to increase to around thirty."

"Do we know where in the compound they are holding Jake and Rose?" Lao Shi questioned.

"The personal quarters are up on the top two levels of the building. I would guess that Rose's are located near the Hunts Masters," Fu said, looking at the three dragons in front of him. "I think that Rose uploaded a rough sketch of the place," He ran a separate search for the blueprints.

"What do you suggest our plan of attack should be?" Sun asked as they waited on the results from the search. Lao Shi nodded and scratched his head in thought.

"I believe we would be more effective if we split up once inside the Hunts Clan's Headquarters," Lao Shi began, "Most likely they will have the bulk of their forces in or near the room in which they are keeping Jake; believing him to be the bigger threat of the two. Sun, you and I should proceed down into the holding area and work to get Jake away from those two incase he needs to transform inside of the dream realm."

"What should I do grandpa?" Hailey asked, chiming into the conversation.

"You will head to the personnel quarters and retrieve Rose's body. Then you will give her the antidote and wake her up with this," Lao Shi indicated to a small bottle on the counter, picking it up and tossing it over to her.

Hailey caught the bottle with expert grace. "What is this? Some magical wake up potion or something?"

Lao Shi laughed, "No, no, no; just smelling salt."

"Oh"

"Got it," Fu yelled grabbing the attention of the other three. "Rose's room is located on the top floor in the northeast corner. And it looks like Jake would probably be held in the basement; there's a special room for magical creature interrogation," he said pointing to the two places on the map.

"Do you see a good entrance point?" Sun asked.

"The best place to enter is through either the roof or the sewer. "I'd place 200 dog biscuits on going through the roof. They have several concealed doors that they use to get in and out unnoticed." Fu answered, pulling up the original search screen.

"We shall use a two pointed attack," Lao Shi stated. "Hailey you will enter through the roof, putting you closest to Rose while Sun and I will enter through the sewer entrance," he said, turning to the younger dragon, "Once you enter the compound and locate Rose, wait till she is fully awake before leaving the room. We will most likely need her help when it comes to freeing Jake."

"Okay"

"So, are we ready?" Lao Shi asked, looking around the room. Everyone nodded their heads. The three dragons marched out the back door and took to the skies with heavy resolve.

"There it is," Sun shouted, pointing to a dilapidated looking building that surprisingly had a state of the art security system. "What are we going to do about that?"

"This," Lao Shi said with a smile as he produced three small metal bands.

"What are those?" Hailey asked, flying up beside Lao Shi and Sun.

"These allow us to move undetected by electronic security systems. They were developed by the elves," Lao Shi informed them while distributing the bangles.

Once the three bands were affixed to each of their wrists, the group descended down upon the warehouse. Lao Shi and Sun effortlessly dropped down and into the sewer as Hailey made her way to the roof access point closest to Rose's Room.

**ΩΩΩ**

Rose knew she had to focus if she and Jake were going to get out of this alive. "GO JAKE, HIT HIM NOW!" she yelled. As the Hunts Master turned to fight off a non-existent Jake she proceeded to ram her boot into the small of his back. He began to fall over as she placed a bone shattering kick into the side of his ribs.

Jake watched from the sky as Rose hit the Hunts Master square in the ribs. _Nice shot. _Using his dragon breath, he pushed back several of the Hunts Clan that were getting too close to Rose. His tail slammed together two more Hunts Clan members, rendering them unconscious. He dropped down from his hovering point but quickly became surrounded by the remaining Hunts Clan members. Carefully, he looked around eyeing each of his opponents. Inhaling deeply, Jake pushed off the ground and unleashed a huge ball of dragon fire at the unsuspecting ninjas. He managed to engulf several in flames before they quickly disappeared out of the dream world.

"JAKE!"

Jake whipped around quickly. His eyes went wide with horror. Before him stood the Hunts Master holding Rose in a deathly tight grip with a knife positioned at the pale skin of her neck. "Rose," he managed to squeak out, completely oblivious to the two Clans members coming up along side him. They reached over grabbed a hold of his arms, keeping him from moving. Slowly, a sharp, devious smile crept across the Hunts Master's lips.

"Dragon, do you love this woman?" He asked with dignified composer underlined with mal contempt.

Jake said nothing.

"I asked you a question, boy!" The Hunts Master shook violently as he shouted out the words. Deepening his smile, he twitched the blade and Rose grimaced in pain as a small stream of blood trickled down her neck. Jake flinched within his captors grip.

"Now that you understand the magnitude of this situation, I'll ask again: Do you love this woman?" He tipped the blade closer.

"Yes." His reply barely came out as a whisper.

"Speak up when spoken to, boy!" More blood flowed from the wound.

"Yes! Yes, I love her!" His words were scratchy and raw.

"Now then dragon, transform or I'll push this blade all the way through her fragile little neck," the Hunts Master spoke with utter distain.

"Don't do it Jake," Rose spoke between ragged breaths.

Jake looked into her beautiful blue eyes and saw them laced with pain and regret. He watched dully as she mouthed something to him. He could barely understand what she was saying; all he could make out for sure were the last few words: "I love you and I'm sorry."

Using her last burst of energy, Rose broke away from the Hunts Master's hold and elbowed him in the ribs. Without thinking, Jake transformed fully and used his wings to blow away the clan members whom were holding onto him. He was about to charge forward to snag Rose away but stopped in his tracks. Time stood still as he watched the Hunts Master sling the knife across Rose's neck. As he pulled the blade away, droplets of blood sprayed out from the gash and the blonde beauty crumpled to the ground.

Jake couldn't breath. Jake couldn't think. Jake couldn't . . . _No_.

His eyes narrowed to thin almond shaped slits and he lurched forward with all his strength, hitting the Hunts Master square in the chest with his sharp claws. "You killed her! You killed her!" Jake yelled as he punched and kicked the Hunts Master. "I loved her! You . . . you! I am going to kill you!" Jake roared. With casual miss direction, the Hunts Master effortlessly threw Jake into a tree. A terrifying bone crushing crunch was heard on impact.

"Come now, dragon." He clicked his tongue. "She was a pawn that fancied herself a traitor. She is worthless to me now. I will slay you and then the rest of your kind. One day I will be known as the savoir of the human race! The man that destroyed all of those worthless magical creatures."

Slowly, Jake picked himself off the ground and stared down the Hunts Master, "And I will be known as the dragon that kicked your butt." Jake unleashed a massive fire ball at the Hunts Master and then sprung into the air and shot another fireball at the Hunts Master's retreating form. Suddenly both fireballs changed direction and started flying at him. Jake barely managed to doge them. "What the hell just happened?" Jake asked out loud, trying to gain his bearings on the situation.

"Remember dragon, I am in control of this world and that means that I can do what ever I want to in here. I allowed you and the traitor to believe that you had the upper hand. All I have to do is think about it and . . ." Suddenly Jake found himself under a phoenix hair net. "You see dragon, with complete control over this world. All I have to do is will it and you lose your powers but retain your dragon form." His insidious laughter pierced through Jake's ears.

**ΩΩΩ**

Lao Shi and Sun made their way down the sewer entrance to the warehouse. "Are you sure Hailey will be alright on her own?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yes, I have great faith in her and her brother's abilities," Lao Shi answered. "There," he said pointing to the grate above their heads, "That is the entrance that we need to take." Sun nodded her agreement and pressed it open with her tail. Once inside, the two dragons headed in the direction of the interrogation chamber. Without warning, red lights began flashing all over.

"Intruders in the basement. Intruders in the basement. All personnel report to the basement immediately," A disembodied voice said across the intercom.

"Looks as if we have been detected," Sun spoke as thirty Hunts Clan members followed by numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine pilled into the hallway. Both dragons transformed, preparing for the battle.

**ΩΩΩ**

Hailey poked her head around the corner to see four guards standing outside of Rose's room. _How am I going to get rid of them without one of them setting off the alarm?_ Suddenly the alarm went off. _Oh god, I tripped the alarm my self._ "Intruders in the basement," the voice said as Hailey wiped the sweat from her forehead. The four guards starting running down the hall as fast as their feet would carry them.

Quickly, Hailey snuck into Rose's room. _Wow, this place is pink._ She made her way over to the bed with the sleeping girl. She froze in her tracks. There was blood, on the pillow, on the sheets and on Rose's neck. _No! This is bad! I have to hurry_. Carefully Hailey propped her head up against her arm. With a steady hand Hailey, poured the antidote into her mouth and gently rubbed the girl's throat to encourage her to swallow.

**ΩΩΩ**

Several clan members charged the two dragons at once. Lao Shi unleashed a breath of fire towards the ones coming from the left while Sun did exterminate the ones on the right. They managed to knock down at least eight between them with their initial attack.

"Use your staffs you idiots," eighty-eight called from the back of the group. Sun and Lio Shi hit the deck as staff blasts zoomed above there heads. "At the dragons you morons! At the dragons!" eighty-nine barked.

"We need a bigger place to fight," Sun whispered above the racket of the staff fire.

"Agreed," he said before channeling his fire breath onto the floor. The wood quickly gave way and the group fell into the room below. Sun and Lao Shi flew above the descending Hunts Clan hoping to knock out a few from the fall.

"Got you dragon," a voice spoke as Lao Shi felt a pull on his tail. He didn't even have time to react as he was pulled down and slammed into the ground below. Quickly, he rolled to the side, barely missing a staff slamming into the ground right where his head was a moment ago.

Sun flew around, taking shots at the various clan members that had remained conscious after the fall. A few quick punches and swipes with her tail and nearly all of the twenty remaining clan members were unconscious. Without out warning, she was slammed into the thick concrete wall. The skin on her back smoldered from the blast of a staff weapon. Her hand reached around and rubbed her back as she stood unsteadily against the wall.

Lao Shi lashed out with his tail, catching Eighty-eight by the foot and throwing him into the air and into the far wall. Taking a quick assessment of the room, he noted that nearly all of the clan members were either knocked out or incapacitated in some other way. That only left Eighty-eight and Eighty-nine as the main opponents. _Good that leaves Jake free to transform if needed; not that he would know that. _Sun currently had Eighty-nine engaged in battle, so he chased after Eighty whom was slowly picking himself off the floor.

**ΩΩΩ**

A moment after Rose swallowed the antidote, Hailey fumbled with the smelling salt in attempts to quickly wake her up. She nearly dropped the salt when the thin red line across Rose's neck grew deeper. Without hesitation she placed the smelling salt under her nose and Rose shot up, gasping for breath. Hailey was nearly thrown off the bed by Rose's sudden movement. She immediately reached for her neck to put pressure on the wound.

"Rose!" Hailey screamed out in worry. Rose coughed and gasped for air.

"In my dresser . . . top drawer . . ." was all Rose managed to say before nearly passing out. Wasting no time, Hailey rushed over to the dresser and discovered several bundles of gauze and flasks filled with sparkling potions. She recognized one of the bottles as a human healing potion and immediately pulled it from the drawer. She applied an ample amount to Rose's wound then compressed it tightly with the gauze. She placed the smelling salt under Rose's nose again and braced herself for another violent wake up. Once conscience, Rose gave Hailey a small smile.

"Thanks," she said hoarsely, rubbing her neck. "I thought I was dead."

"No problem. It's what my brother would have done."

"Jake," Rose breathed out, remembering he was still in trouble.

"We need to get downstairs and help grandpa get Jake," Hailey said standing up and walking over to Rose's side. "You know I can see why he likes y--."

"Oh God!" Rose screamed, "Jake thinks I'm dead. We have to get down there right now before he does something really stupid. Over here is a quick route to the room that Jake is most likely being held in." Hailey followed Rose through the door that was carefully concealed in the wall. "We should be able get down there in half the time and avoid most of the clan members in the halls," she said grabbing a hold of the door and shutting it closed again.

The two found themselves in the corridor outside of the interrogation room a lot quicker than expected. Both girls breathed deeply trying to force the air back into their lungs. "On the count of three we burst in there and rescue Jake," Rose whispered to Hailey. She nodded her head understandingly. Rose held up her fingers and counted: one, two, and three. The two girls burst through the door; Hailey transformed right as the door opened and Rose flipped out to the side grabbing a staff hanging on the wall. The two girls looked around in surprise at the absence of clan members. In the center of the room was the American Dragon chained to shackles hanging from the center of the room. Hailey rushed over to unhook him, but was thrown back like a rag doll.

"What happened?" Hailey asked, slowly sitting up.

"A shield specially designed to prevent what you just attempted," Rose explained, walking over and unhooking Jake and throwing him over her shoulder. Rose laid him down on the floor and Hailey walked over, offering her the antidote. Carefully she poured it into his mouth encouraging him to swallow then waved the smelling salt underneath his nose. Without warning he shot straight into the air. "Jake! It's me. Rose," she called from below.

Jake looked down with a mix of confusion and happiness plastered across his face. "Rose!" he nearly yelled, flying down transforming mid flight and slamming into her. "I thought you were dead," he said incredibly fast pressing his lips to hers is a passionate kiss. He noticed the blood stained bandages around her neck and his smile quickly faded. "I thought . . . I thought I had lost you." The words stumbled out of his mouth. She intertwined her fingers with his and pulled his hand across her cheek.

"I'm OK," she assured him, "_we're_ OK."

"Um, can you guys like not do that while we are still in the middle of the Hunts Clans Headquarters," Hailey chimed in bringing their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Hailey, what are you doing here," Jake asked, eyeing his sister.

"We're here to rescue you," Hailey answered. "Now can we please get out of here and go find Grandpa and Sun."

CRACK!

Three heads turned to see two dragons in a full out brawl with numbers Eighty-eight and Eighty-nine. Jake and Hailey both transformed and headed in the direction of the battle while Rose picked up the staff she had dropped. "Young-one good to see you are okay," Lao Shi said, landing a tail slash directly into Eighty-eight's lower back, sending him across the room.

Thinking quickly, Rose fired a rapid succession of shots towards Eighty-eight. Three of the five managed to hit him square in the back. "That will keep him out for hours," Rose called out, turning and firing another set of blasts towards Eighty-nine. Eighty-nine turned and dropped into a prone position on the ground and fired back at Rose. One of the shots grazed her arm, leaving a trail of blood flowing down her pajama sleeve.

"ROSE!" Jake yelled, charging straight for Eighty-nine. He was about to unleash a ball of fire at him when something pulled on his tail. Looking down, Jake's eyes went wide at the sight of the Hunts Master.

"I told you that I would finally have you, dragon!" he barked, slamming Jake down into the concrete floor with tremendous force. The impact was so hard that Jake felt a few ribs crack. As he lay on the ground, the Hunts Master walked over and pressed the tip of his staff to his neck. "This is the last time you will cause me any more t--." The Hunts Master was thrown off of Jake by a huge fireball delivered by Hailey.

"Thanks," Jake said, wincing as he stood up. He rushed over to where Rose was standing and holding her arm. They watched as Lao Shi and Sun began battling the clan members coming through the door.

"Are you going to be okay?" Rose nodded her head in confirmation. "I'm going to go take care of Hunts Chump and you go find a way to get us out of here." Again Rose nodded her head and took off towards the far wall lined with strange looking staffs. Jake shot into the air high above the rest of the group. He spotted the Hunts Master over by the wall grabbing two claw looking devices. Flying as fast as he could, Jake slammed into his back, knocking him against the wall. He then headed towards the remaining clan members and unleashed his fire breath at the group. Sun took the opportunity to focus her chi and knocked several of the clan members unconscious.

Rose grabbed a very specific staff off of the wall. The staff was embellished with strange gold and silver markings and in the middle of the blade was a tiny switch. Rose flipped the switch, charging the staff to place someone into a magically induced comma. She spotted the Hunts Master against the wall starting to stir. She took careful aim and fired. The purplish beam hit him square in the back and he slumped against the wall.

Eighty-nine turned to see Hunts Girl attack the Hunts Master. He growled under his breath and turned his staff to aim at her back. He super charged the staff, allowing the glowing green orb of energy to grow larger with every second. He released the mass of energy straight for Rose.

"NO!" Jake screamed out.

Reacting quickly, Hailey reached down with her tail and picked Rose up as the blast sailed beneath her feet. "Thanks," Rose yelled to a smiling pink dragon. Hailey dropped her off next to a thankful Jake that wrapped her in a quick hug before taking off at two clan members sneaking up on Sun and grandpa.

Rose ran straight for Eighty-nine, kicking the staff out of his hands and engaging him in hand to hand combat. Jake watched in awe as Rose and Eighty-nine fought hand to hand. He was so glad that she had stopped trying to slay him years ago. Rose landed a direct upper cut to Eighty-nine's jaw, sending him falling backwards into a table.

Lao Shi and Sun made quick work of the remaining clan members while Rose hit everyone with the special staff. After everyone was taken care of, Lao Shi walked over and looked at Rose and Jake standing next to each other with hands intertwined. "Rose, I believe that you will no longer be able to stay here. I think you should get some of you belongings together." Rose nodded and they ran back through the door that she and Hailey had come though.

A few minutes later they returned with Rose dressed in her normal school clothes and a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She absentmindedly pulled at the bandages around her neck.

"I think it would be best if you stayed at the shop," Lao Shi spoke, ushering everyone out of the building. Rose led everyone to the roof and Sun, Hailey, and Lao Shi all transformed, taking to the skies. Jake and Rose stood still, watching them fly away. A small breeze tugged at the silence between them. There were a million things Jake wanted to say, but they all tangled in his throat and the only words that came out were, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she whispered back. He smiled at her then transformed and whisked her to her feet, chasing after the others.

**AN: I want to thank dx/dt for her amazing work on this chapter. She is just too talented for her own good. LOL She has been fantastic through out this fic and I am eternally in her debt. There is only going to be one more chapter after this. I know it's sad, but all good things must come to an end. That is assuming you consider this a good thing. Please let me know what you thought and what you would like to see in the final chapter.**

**-Tech-man Out**


	7. A New Life

**AN: I thought I would put this at the top so that you all didnt think that I was cheating you at the bottom. Just so you know this is unedited and so I expect several mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon Jake Long.**

**Live Bait**

**Chapter 7 – A New Life**

Lao Shi, Sun and Hailey arrived at the roof of the shop. Looking back towards the sky Hailey strained to see Jake and Rose. The three dragons made there way down the stairs and into the backroom. "Hailey," Lao Shi spoke grabbing the young dragons' attention, "Why don't you go ahead and head back home. Tell Susan that Jake is safe, but he will most likely want to remain here to make sure Rose is okay." Hailey nodded her head in understanding before making her way out the back door and towards home.

"Are you going to contact the Dragon Council?" Sun asked taking a seat opposite of Lao Shi.

"Fu contacted them the moment we left on the rescue mission. He did however make sure not to Hunts girl's true identity. Because she is already eighteen Rose will be able to get along on her own. I do however think I will offer her one of the upstairs bedrooms until she can find a place of her own. What do you think, Sun?" he asked getting a tea pot and starting some tea.

"I think that is quite generous of you," Sun began, "Jake does seem to be quite in love with her."

"Yes, that he does," Lao Shi concluded pouring Sun a cup of tea.

"Who does what?" Jake asked walking down the stairs his arm affixed securely around Rose's waist.

"Ah, young one; we have decided that Rose should stay here until she can find a place on her own. Take her upstairs and show her to one of the empty bedrooms," Lao Shi commanded turning his attention back to Sun and Fu Dog who had just reentered the room. Jake looked down at Rose and smiled then turning in perfect synchronization headed back up the stairs. "Have you heard from the Dragon Council yet?"

Fu took a seat and looked over at the elder dragon, "Yes, they have sent two squads over to capture the remaining Hunts Clan as well as the Hunts Master and numbers eighty-eight and eighty-nine." Lao Shi nodded his head and sipped on his cup of tea.

**ΩΩΩ**

Number eighty-eight batted his eyes open trying to focus of the scene before him. From his vantage point all he could see was the fallen bodies of his brothers. Painfully he pushed himself up onto his knees holding his head between his hands trying to quell the massive headache that threatened to render him unconscious once again. "Eighty-nine where are you?" he yelled with what little breath he could. A moan of extreme pain returned his call. Reaching for his staff as more of a crutch than a weapon he hoisted himself up and looked around spotting eight-nine lying on his back his jaw shattered.

Eighty-eight wobbled over to his friend and looked down at the damage that had been inflicted on him. "What happened to you?" he asked kneeling down feeling the muscles in his back aching where the staff blasts had contacted. Eighty-nine mumbled out something intelligible followed by pointing back over his shoulder a look of concern on his face. Eighty-eight looked towards the wall that eighty-nine had been pointing. There leaning against the wall with his face plastered against it was the Hunts Master.

BANG

Several puffs of smoke filled the area as dragons began appearing followed by elves and other magical creatures. The dragons signaled for the lower creatures to begin binding the Hunts Clan that were still alive. Eighty-eight looked up as three dragons approached. A tall slender dragon with a green body and several tattoos walked towards him and Eighty-nine. "By order of the Dragon Council you are here by bound," he barked reaching over and slamming a pair of magical cuffs on him. Another dragon turned Eighty-nine over pulling his arms behind his back. Two more dragons approached the Hunts Master still seemingly lifeless against the far wall. The two dark red dragons reached down and each grabbed an arm of the Hunts Master easily picking him up. The one on the left pulled identical looking cuffs as was being used around the room slapping them on the Hunts Master with much more force then was needed. "You know that he isn't going to feel anything right?" the dragon on the right chided the dragon on the left.

The remaining Hunts Clan after being bound were pilled into the center of the room. The elves placed four small pillars around the clan and began an Elvin chant. In a puff of smoke the clan members disappeared.

The green dragon looked at the members of the two squads, "Go and search the premises, find out everything that you can and gather all magical items and weapons that you can find. We have five hours before any Clan member out on patrol are due back in and I don't want to leave them anything." With that last part the group broke into several different groups all heading in different directions.

**ΩΩΩ**

"Mom," Hailey called out as she walked in through the back door. Susan came running down the stairs so fast that she nearly slammed into the young girl standing at the bottom.

"Where is he? Where's Jake?" she screamed causing Hailey to cover her ears and grimace.

"He's fine, mom. He is over at Grandpa's shop. Grandpa told me to tell you that Jake will most likely be staying over there. But don't worry mom he's fine," Hailey said looking into her mothers eyes.

"Why is he staying over there?" Susan questioned sitting Hailey down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"My guess would be because of Hunts girl," Hailey snickered looking at the confused look on her mothers face.

"Hunts girl," Susan exclaimed momentarily forgetting the connection between Rose and Hunts girl.

Hailey couldn't contain her laugher any longer and the worried expression on her mothers face only fueled the laughter. "Mo… Mom," she exclaimed grabbing her mother from her thoughts, "Rose is Hunts girl. Jake just wants to make sure she is alright."

Understanding washed through Susan's body as the connection between the two girls registered. _Right, Jake's greatest enemy is also his girlfriend._ Susan sighed finally noticing Hailey nearly falling out of her chair with uncontrollable laughter. "It can't be that funny."

"You should have seen your face," Hailey said in between fits of laughter. "I'm going to go to bed though," she finished pushing away from the table and making her way towards the stairs. At the top of the first turn she looked down at her mom still sitting at the table. "Don't worry mom. Jake really is okay and Grandpa and Sun are there too." With that she disappeared from the top of the stairs.

**ΩΩΩ**

Once Jake and Rose had cleared the top of the stairs he spun her around in his arms pinning her against the wall. She was shocked by the sudden action, but quickly forgot her confusion as Jake's lips met hers in a passionate kiss. "That is because Hunts Chump interrupted our date," he mumbled into her mouth. Rose smiled into the kiss deepening it as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. The kiss only lasted a moment before the two parted and continued their way down the hall towards the spare bedroom.

Jake took Rose's bag and set it in the closet while Rose walked towards the bathroom. Jake collapsed onto the bed running his hand through his messy hair. _What now? _He wondered as he turned his head towards the bathroom door the sound of running water hitting his ears. Jake looked down at his sweat soaked clothes and stood up making his way over to the bathroom in the hallway.

Rose laid her head against the side of the shower just enjoying the feeling of warm water beat down on her back and shoulders. Rose ran her hand gently across her neck trying to find traces of that knife that had slit her throat. To her joy she couldn't detect any defect in the skin around her neck. _Wow that stuff really worked. Guess I will have to get some of that stuff from Haley._ Rose reached down turning the water off grabbing a towel hanging on the rack quickly drying her self off. She cracked open the door into the room to find Jake missing. Reaching into the closet she changed into a loose fitting shirt and pair of pants she had gotten from Jake one of few times she had dared go over to his house.

After changing Rose headed towards the room she knew Jake would be staying in. She could hear Jake in the shower across the hall from the room. Carefully Rose opened the door and let herself in. She laid down on the bed and let out an unintentional yawn. Quickly Rose drifted off into a sound slumber.

**ΩΩΩ**

"So tell me," Sun began setting her cup of tea down on the table between them. "What have you told the counsel about Hunts girl and the American Dragon being romantically involved?"

Lao Shi mimicked Suns action placing his tea cup down beside hers. "I have told them that Hunts girl has been aiding the American Dragon for several years now. That she helped in the take down of the Hunts Clan this evening. That is all they need to know," he spoke with finality that Sun understood and accepted.

**ΩΩΩ**

Jake smiled at the though of finally being down with the Hunts Clan. _Finally I can spend all the time with Rose I want to._ Jake reached over and turned off the water drying off with one of the guest towels. He had put Rose in the room he normally stayed in because the bed was much more comfortable. He pulled on a pair of grey sweat pants and an old t-shirt and headed off to bed hoping to salvage some of their dream date.

Jake's eyes went wide at the sight before him. Lying on the bed was Rose wearing some of his old clothes with a pillow pulled tightly to her. He carefully walked over towards the edge of the bed taking his time he didn't want to wake her just yet. After turning off the light Jake positioned himself directly behind her pulling her as close as she held the pillow to her.

Jake buried his face in her golden locks inhaling the scent that was only Rose. "I love you," he whispered into her ear. After a few moments of being saturated by her warmth and smell Jake drifted off to sleep.


End file.
